Premium Payments if Enhanced Premium Tax Credits Expire
This data note examines how the expiration of the ACA's enhanced premium tax credits could affect the out-of-pocket portion of premiums for different households.
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This data note examines how the expiration of the ACA's enhanced premium tax credits could affect the out-of-pocket portion of premiums for different households.
Commercial health insurance markets remain highly concentrated across coverage types. However, the individual market, which consists mostly of the ACA Marketplaces, has attracted more insurers and witnessed greater insurer competition across a variety of measures since the implementation of the enhanced premium tax credits in 2021, according to a new Healthy System Tracker analysis.
This analysis of enrollment in Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace health plans finds a record 24.3 million people enrolled in 2025, more than double the total in 2020, with most of the growth occurring in states won by President Trump in the 2024 election. In six states, enrollment more than tripled from 2020 to 2025: Texas, Mississippi, West Virginia, Louisiana, Georgia, and Tennessee.
Policy changes, anticipated increases in premium costs for enrollees, and new standards for health savings accounts may encourage consumers to seek out plans with lower premiums but higher deductibles. This issue brief explores the features of bronze and catastrophic plans, coverage and costs, and the complicated choices consumers face.
KFF's Health Tracking Poll finds that more than three-quarters of the public say they want Congress to extend the ACA enhanced premium tax credits that are set to expire at the end of this year. If the credits do expire and the average premium more than doubles, seven in 10 of those who purchase their own insurance say they would not be able to afford premiums without significantly disrupting their household finances.
A new KFF Health Tracking Poll finds more than three-quarters (78%) of the public say they want Congress to extend the enhanced tax credits available to people with low and moderate incomes to make the health coverage purchased through the Affordable Care Act’s Marketplace more affordable.
Take this ten-question quiz to see how much you know about how the ACA affects health insurance coverage and costs as well as who is eligible for financial assistance
After failed Senate votes late last year and no subsequent bipartisan agreement, the enhanced premium tax credits expired as of January 1. Some states, particularly those operating State-Based Marketplaces (SBMs), have been preparing for this possibility for months and are moving to blunt the impact on consumers by implementing their own state-funded subsidies and implementing other programs aimed at stabilizing the cost of unsubsidized premiums.
This analysis illustrates how provisions included in the House budget reconciliation bill could expose Marketplace enrollees with unpredictable incomes to higher penalties when filing taxes if they underestimate their incomes. About one in four potential Marketplace shoppers had incomes that varied at least 20 percent from the beginning to the end of the year.
The ACA's enhanced premium tax credits expired at the end of 2025. This calculator estimates how much out-of-pocket premium payments would increase for families without the enhanced credits. The projected premium increases are estimated based on family income, zip code, size, ages, and 2026 ACA Marketplace premiums.
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